Memory Loss
by StrangelyPenned
Summary: Ben visits an asylum to visit the one person he never thought he'd see there: Alex Rider. But why is Alex there and how much does he really remember? ... A quick preview to a story I shall be writing. I need your help - do you like it?


"Alex," Ben said, walking forwards slowly. "It's me, Ben. Don't you remember me?"

The blonde jerked backwards, moving away from the dark-haired Liverpudlian; he had a wild, feral look in his eyes. Ben stopped moving at a command from his earpiece, holding his hands up in the air to make himself seem friendly.

Alex stopped too, regarding the man critically. "Who are you?"

"I told you, I'm Ben," replied the man, hoping they would get somewhere.

"_Let Alex initiate conversation," Emma had said earlier. "If he doesn't remember you we assume he'll instincts will kick in."_

"_What do you mean?" Ben had asked, sensing something was off._

_Emma smiled wryly, with no humour. "He knocked a security guard out cold with one punch. We've learnt to be careful."_

Ben shook his head. It seemed that even though Alex did not have any memories, his fighting lessons had not deserted him. He had seen the size of the lump on Brian – the security guard's – head. And Brian himself hadn't been small.

"I don't mean like that," Alex said, rolling his eyes and interrupting his thoughts.

"Then what do you mean?" Ben asked.

"That's right," Emma said in his earpiece. "Gently. Now wait for him to reply."

Alex's eyes narrowed dangerously and his dark eyes bore into Ben's. "I think you know what I mean, Ben."

Ben hesitated, but with no command from Emma decided to give in. "Yes, okay. Are you asking about my job?"

A triumphant grin broke over Alex's face. "I knew it! I remember something about you … Bangkok, am I right?"

Ben couldn't help but smile too. "That's right Alex. We met there."

"Why?"

"Sorry?"

"Why did I see you there?" Alex looked confused, a lost look in his eyes. "What's your job, Ben? What am I missing?"

"I-," Ben began, unsure what to disclose. "I work for the Government."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ben knew it was the wrong thing to say. A dark shadow passed over Alex's face and his lips twisted into a cruel sneer. It didn't suit him. He advanced towards Ben until they were standing nose to nose. Ben noticed dimly that Alex had grown since they had last met.

"Oh really?" Alex mocked. "And what branch of the Government would that be?"

Ben swallowed, feeling a slight tinge of fear. "I think you know, Alex."

"Like hell I do!" Alex roared suddenly, turning away.

Ben was startled and following the sudden hissing in his ear, began to back away to the door. Alex noticed, turning and the smirk quickly replaced the enraged expression again.

"Someone tell you to retreat?" prodded Alex, tapping his own ear.

Ben's eyes widened. "You noticed?"

"I noticed lots of things Ben," Alex replied. His voice sounded weary and old, all the fight gone out of him. "You've got that earpiece in your ear that connects you to Emma, who's sitting behind that lovely mirror." Alex pointed to the two-sided window on the wall beside him. "You've got more than one ID in your pocket. One of them is real, the other a series of fakes."

Ben caught his breath, how did he know? But Alex wasn't quite done.

He pointed to Ben's shoes. "You don't usually wear those trainers. They're new, the mud coating them barely a day old. The laces are hard and stiff, meaning you wear those shoes for a purpose: to come here?" Now Alex nodded to Ben's jacket. "There's an unusual bulge in your jacket, presumably where you're keeping a gun. The unusual way you walk means you don't normally have it there. The proper place is your waistband, but because you're coming in here, Emma assumes seeing the gun will scare me."

"Alex-" Ben interrupted, but Alex was on a roll now.

"The fact that you carry a gun at all can point to two things. One, that you're a criminal. Or two, you work for the government. You've just told me you work for the government, but I don't think it's the police force or the army. You have more than one identification badge and no radio to connect with your superiors. Therefore, you work for a different branch of the government. I have a suspicion as to what it is, but the mere fact I'm here proves I must be crazy and saying it out loud will only further reinforce that. Care to say it for me?"

Frozen, in shock at the amount of things Alex had sussed out, Ben spoke the first words from his lips. "Secret service."

Alex turned his back on Ben and it was with trouble that he heard the next words; spoken so softly Alex could have been speaking to himself: "I thought so."

**This is just a preview(ish) of a story I'm planning to write. I kind of wanted to test the waters, because I haven't properly written Alex Rider fanfiction before.**

**Tell me: do you like it? Drop me a review and tell me, your feedback would be most appreciated.**


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